Pfizer \’the creep at the bar\’ after another AstraZeneca rejection

That\’s how some summed up the tangled tie-up battle between Pfizer
and British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca
, after the latter rejected a last-ditch offer from its American rival.

Pfizer raised its offer to £55 on Sunday evening, but that got the big thumbs-down on Monday from the U.K. company, which cited \”uncertainty and risks\” for shareholders. AstraZeneca\’s board said any offer would have to be at least 10% above Friday’s indicative price of £53.50 ($89.96) a share.

Worth noting: Under British takeover laws, once a company makes a final offer, that bid can\’t be lifted again unless there is a material change in circumstances.

So what was the immediate reaction? The Brits were cheering AstraZeneca, partly for rejecting a big U.S. corporate takeover, but some also felt it wasn\’t a fair price. Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, said Pfizer undervalued AstraZeneca, and Aberdeen Asset Management\’s CIO Anne Richards reportedly told the BBC pretty much the same.

But AstraZeneca stock seemed more focused on annoyed shareholders, as its price dropped 12% in London — and some big shareholders were reportedly among those carping.

AstraZeneca even suffered a downgrade early Monday from Leerink, who cut it to market perform from outperform. \”With a \’white knight\’ unlikely to emerge … and the risk that AZN\’s board rejects the offer, we can no longer recommend that investors put new money to work in AZN,\” the analysts said.

They called the Pfizer offer compelling, adding that AstraZeneca\’s major pipeline cards have been played.

Saxo Bank\’s head of equity strategy, Peter Garnry, said the deal never really made sense on a synergy front anyway, as AstraZeneca is already the leanest European pharmaceutical company out there. Plus, its current drug pipeline is not very attractive, he says.

\”A majority of the deal\’s value have rested on Pfizer moving its tax domicile outside the U.S., maybe to Ireland, and thus lowering its effective tax rate significantly. Given the intense focus on corporate tax optimization and income inequality in general, Pfizer has apparently underestimated the public currents,\” Garnry said in a note.

Some are now seeing Pfizer in a dimmer light, partly for its inability to get the deal done. The drug maker was sniffing at AstraZeneca\’s heels earlier this year, too, so the latest rejection made for a third strike.

As you might expect, plenty of Pfizer mockery was going on over in the Twitterverse:

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